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Care Homes

I agree. As a former county councillor, I remember going to what was effectively a rationing panel, although we did not call it that. It decided who went where and whether there was enough money for that provision. Then the issue arose about where the extra money was to come from if people's needs increased dramatically once they were placed. To some extent, we were reliant on the homes effectively to subsidise some care, because there was never enough money to put in the pot. The next area that I want to talk about is the inspection process. I am not critical per se of the idea of the Commission for Social Care Inspection. I dealt with several difficult cases during its previous incarnation, and I think that the inspection process must be independent and must be carried out in the way it is. I used to visit care homes as a county councillor; it was one of our responsibilities. We just took it on. We had no particular expertise, but it was important that we should try to do it to the best of our ability. I welcome the setting up of CSCI, but the problem is that as we drive up standards, we drive some homes out of the marketplace. Even if they are not driven out directly—if some CSCI powers are not used carefully—what is written in the reports drives them out, because people are not encouraged to send their nearest and dearest to those homes. I have talked to the Minister confidentially about the matter. I know of some cases in which inspections have been quite harsh and have quickly led to a legal process. My criticism is that there is not much room for negotiation. Once there is a bad report for a home with no stars, the legal process that gets under way and the quick progression to an independent tribunal give little room for manoeuvre. We must understand that we cannot have it both ways. If we want the homes at the cheaper end of the market, we cannot drive up the standards so that they cannot survive alongside the more expensive homes.